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Consumer Alert! Apple Refurbished PowerBook G3's.
January 24, 2000
by Stephen Hildreth
Editor-in-Chief
Yesterday we received an e-mail from a PowerBook Central reader who purchased a refurbished PowerBook G3/300/DVD from Outpost.com, but actually received a PowerBook G3/233. According to the reader, "I got a box with a label on the outside identifying it as a 300MHz machine. I turned on the computer and found that Outpost sent me a 233MHz Powerbook without DVD, with only 32MB RAM and with a 2GB hard drive. If I didn't know my Macs, I might have been fooled into believing that Outpost sent me what I ordered." In response, Outpost offered to return the person's money and give him a substantial discount on a new PowerBook. Outpost would have replaced the machine with a PowerBook G3/300/DVD, but they are out of stock.
The main issue here, we feel, is that the company Apple uses to recondition and circulate refurbished Macs messed up and put a 233MHz PowerBook into a box labeled as 300MHz. How can this happen? The fact that every PowerBook released since 1997 is called 'PowerBook G3' surely doesn't help matters. Indeed, unless a person purposely uses a diagnostic tool like the Apple System Profiler (or turns the machine over and looks at the model number), there is no easy way to tell which PowerBook G3 you're holding.
If you've recently received a refurbished PowerBook, from any reseller, make sure you got the system for which you paid. Did you get the wrong machine?
Check out reader replies to this article.
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Stephen Hildreth has been the Editor-in-Chief of PowerBook Central since its inception in 1996. When not working on his Mac, he shares his love of the outdoors with his family and can be found biking, snow skiing, or educating students on the internal & external processes of our planet.
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